On 7 November 2011, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) published updated guidance (regulatory guide 166) on new financial requirements for responsible entities. The new benchmarks require responsible entities to: maintain a 12 month cash-flow forecast; change the method of calculating Net Tangible Assets (NTA); assess the maximum liability under any personal guarantees provided by the responsible entity; exclude from the calculation of the NTA requirement any eligible undertakings provided by a listed parent entity; introduce an NTA liquidity requirement; and report its NTA requirement. The updated guidance is aimed at ensuring businesses that act as responsible entities for registered managed investment schemes have adequate financial resources to conduct their business in compliance with the Corporations Act in a responsible manner. A Regulation Impact Statement was prepared by ASIC and assessed as adequate by the Office of Best Practice Regulation.
